What Orcs Look Like

[FrodoFriend]

There's a passage in the Sil that descibes when the Elves in Middle Earth first saw Orcs. I remember that they thought that Orcs were just Elves that had gone savage and wild. So, logically, they didn't look THAT different from the Elves themselves. Now, in The Hobbit they're described as "goblins" and are very distinctively not elvish looking, and in LotR (book and movie) they're described as being much more animal-looking (Grishnakh's abnormally long arms, etc.).

What I want to know is: Did the Orcs look the same in the Elder Days as in the other ages? Or did they evolve into more and more hideous forms as time went by? Surely no one could mistake Grishnakh or the movie-Orcs as wild Elves? So what happened?

[Michael Martinez]

Tolkien's view of the Orcs changed radically through the years, but the orcs and goblins of The Hobbit were inspired by the goblins in George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin.

[Wayfarer]

Which is a VERY good story, by the way. I suggest you read it. ;)

[Wayfarer]

You know...

As far as orcs looking like elves, did anyone else think hugo weaving looked like a goblin? He acted a bit like one as well.

[FrodoFriend]

Hmmm . . . no, I thought he looked sort of like a rat. The pointy nose. I could just picture it twitching.

[Wayfarer]

Thanks for that image, FF. ;)

[Ñólendil]

It's stupid, I know, but I thought he looked more like a human than anything else.